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L/Sgt Worden’s bitter-sweet victory in Europe: A story in pictures

Lance Sergeant Edwin Worden survived D-Day and the Battle for Normandy. But the war would not be over for another year: This seasoned D-Day soldier continued to fight in Europe for the liberation of France, Belgium and the Netherlands, and the final Allied victory in Germany.

Tragically, L/Sgt Worden did not live to see Victory in Europe on May 8, 1945.

He died in action in the liberation of Netherlands on April 8, 1945.

The last month of the war saw many Canadian casualties. The Canadian Battlefields Foundation aptly describes these deaths at the end of the war as “a potent mixture of triumph and tragedy”:

“In April 1945 more than 50 soldiers were killed on each of seven days; 114 more were killed between May 1 and the surrender on May 5, including 12 on the last day of fighting in Europe.”

A bitter-sweet victory?

Crowd of Dutch civilians celebrating the liberation of Utrecht by the Canadian Army, May 7, 1945 (Library and Archives Canada)

These amazing photographs from Library and Archives Canada take us on a journey through the last year of the war–and LSgt Worden’s final days: